Spencer Heath Archive

Item 1896

Marginal pencil notation on page 13 of J.R. Goldstein (vice president and director, Rand Corporation), “Will We Deserve Our Inheritance?,” an address presented to the Harvey Mudd College Convocation, Claremont, California, on September 22, 1959

/Goldstein: “I urge you to exploit your native capabilities to the full — aim as high as you can. Some educators, usually below the college level, disagree with this advice because they hate to see young people fail to reach their goals. They are afraid that you may one day collapse in a psychological heap. This, they say, is tragedy.”/

    Only the reverse is tragic. Goals as ideals are for direction only. To achieve a low or base ideal is commonplace at best.